MADURAI: Piled-up vegetable waste and stray cattle menace have become a pressing concern at the Mattuthavani central vegetable market, as traders accuse the city corporation of failing to provide proper sanitary measures.
They added that the market, which houses over a thousand wholesale and retail outlets, several tonnes of vegetable waste have been generated everyday. Normally, as the waste is processed in a five-tonne capacity micro compost yard within the premises, traders allege that with the facility non-operational, the garbage is left unattended and is cleared only once a week, and this accumulated waste attracts stray cattle, causing inconvenience to vendors and visitors alike.
N Chinnamayan, president of the central market all traders federation, said, “The corporation has failed to ensure basic amenities despite thousands of people visiting the market every day. Garbage is cleared once a week, forcing us to deal with sanitary and stray cattle issues daily. Even the in-house compost yard is defunct. The facility must be upgraded to handle the vegetable waste generated here.”
He further said that in recent weeks, sanitary officials have instructed vendors to restrict their waste disposal to just 10 kg per shop, a move that caused resentment among traders. The civic body must withdraw such instructions and take immediate action to restore basic amenities at the market.
Other traders said
However, dismissing these allegations, a senior health department official from the corporation said that since the compost yard machinery has developed technical issues, the waste is being collected daily and sent to Vellakkal for processing.
The official added, “Vendors have been instructed to dump waste in the designated bins or pack it in bags for collection instead of leaving it in open spaces. Apart from that, no other instructions were given. Proposals have already been submitted to repair the compost facility within the market.”